Alcohol-removed drinks
Drinks with boozy associations now come in alcohol-removed versions and while their halal status remains debatable theoretically, name-brand beers with zero per cent alcohol are now stocked in the famously Islamic Mustafa Centre, while restaurants like And Why remain on the cutting edge with their Lussory White-infused mocktails.
Photo: Alcohol-free Suntory beer on display at a supermarket; Halal in the City
Churros
We're not sure when the Spanish dessert snack first arrived here, but how it got whipped into a flurry is pretty clear: Alt-Yard, Chulop and the annual Ramadan Bazaar in Geylang.
Photo: Churros dipped in homemade sauce; Chulop's Facebook page
Flavoured milk
Alt-Yard and Chulop also seem like the early adopters of flavoured milk, offering flavours like cereal (remember Momofuku Milk Bar?) and watermelon. Recently Sinseh: The Grocery raised these two organic soymilk with flavours like honeydew and chocolate Speculoos and served in old school medicine bottles. We reckon the final laugh went to new Korean bingsu cafe Icebox, which started serving not milk, but milk cookie shots - another trend first popularised in New York.
Gourmet burgers
By this we mean real soft buns (sometimes brioche) barely holding massive, roughly ground patties with slaps of homemade sauce ala Sloppy Joes. If it's still unclear, check the price - gourmet burgers can set you back $20 plus fries.
Photo: One of the burger items at Kaw Kaw SG by Makan State; Halal in the City
Japanese cuisine
While Muslims in Singapore always had access to some Japanese cuisine in the form of kaiten chain Hei Sushi and Ramen Ten, this was the year we finally had some real variety. In the middle of this year The Ramen Stall became halal certified then Gion Dining, which claims to be the city's first ever halal Japanese fine dining outfit. Maki-San, which delivers its quirky sushi burritos islandwide, was the icing on the sashimi cake.
Photo: Gion Dining website
Korean snacks
A trend that took much longer than it should've to come to Singapore is halal Korean dining. Let's face it, the Muslim market for Korean anything - pop culture, food, fashion - is huge here, so what took them so long? This year, fans in Singapore finally got a taste of the refreshing bingsu, hand-painted fried chicken and ramyeon, including the YouTube-famous Samyang Fire Noodles.
Photo: Bingsu, a Korean iced dessert; Icebox Cafe's Facebook page
Salted egg yolk sauce
OK, maybe not everything has gotten the salted egg treatment, but all the modern-day staple foods that have - steamed buns, seafood, buttermilk waffles - agree it's a match made in heaven.
Photo: Salted egg crab at Enak Enak Hong Kong Tea House; Halal in the City
Speculoos cookie butter
Where do we start with this one? Our suspicion is that the Speculoos cookie (or Lotus as it's better known in these parts) came first, then someone (presumably Fluff Bakery - again) thought of bringing the American-sensation cookie butter version over. Not only did they sell it bottled, they also used it in some of their cupcakes, like those Double Speculoos Smores beauties pictured.
Photo: Fluff Bakery's Instagram page
Did we miss something? Let us know at editorial@halalinthecity.com